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(~<Recovery Training Arc>~)
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"Tomioka-san... brought me here?" I asked in disbelief, not knowing how to feel about it.
'Maybe because he has good speed...?' I mused, still not convinced over the whole thing, 'Or maybe it is because he kept following me before? But even then—'
Questions, questions, questions.
Too many of these questions.
"Hai, Aneki." Tanjiro replied, "He took Oyakata-sama's permission and immediately carried you here."
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling embarrassed at the whole ordeal.
"It's alright, Aneki." Zenitsu piped up, "You don't need to be embarrassed about it— you were injured after all."
I ruffled the blond slayer's hair, a small smile forming on my lips as they keep referring me as their older sister.
Apparently, it has been a week since the Hashira meeting; and if I were to go by what Tanjiro and Zenitsu said, then I was unconscious almost the entire time since then.
In fact, I even had a high fever almost all of the week which went down just a day before I woke up.
'They most likely tried blood transfusion on me.' I concluded once Tanjiro finished retelling the whole incident. Unfortunately, neither he nor Zenitsu could tell if they actually did try transfusing blood to me due to their lack of knowledge about the whole thing.
A sudden knock on the door made our attention shift, "Moshi, Moshi!" Shinobu greeted with a sweet smile, carrying a small tray with medicines in one hand while the other one still pressed against the door, "May I come in?"
"Please do, Hashira-sama." I politely replied, discreetly staring at her as she entered and placed the tray on the table beside the right side of the bed.
"How are you feeling, Sarota-san?" She asked kindly, her smile widening as both the boys turned to her as well.
"I'm feeling great, Hashira-sama!"
"I'm Kocho Shinobu, Sarota-san." She introduced herself, smiling softly as she handed me a glass of water and my medicines, "I'm the Insect Hashira, and the head of the Butterfly Estate."
"Thank you for letting me stay here, Kocho-san." I smiled awkwardly, "And, can you please refer to me by my given name, ma'am?"
Shinobu blinked in surprise, before smiling again and agreeing to it.
"Kocho-san," I started once I took my medicines, "I hope you don't mind if I ask... but, did my fever cause due to blood transfusion?"
Shinobu stared at me for a few seconds before admitting, "Hai, Miyasha-san. An attempt was made to donate some blood to you since you had lost so much; however, it was soon noticed that the... consistency of your blood was quite different than the usual blood, so it was stopped. Unfortunately, the doctor present could only stop the transfusion when it was already halfway through..."
I chuckled lightly at her remorseful tone, "No harm done, Kocho-san. I may look weak, but this body has sustained through quite a few life threatening injuries. So, no need to worry too much about it."
"It's not much reassuring, you know?" Zenitsu muttered, making both the females smile at his sulking tone.
"Although, I'm glad you made it out alive..." Shinobu's tone sounding genuinely relieved, "Your speedy recovery surprised us all."
"I heal fast." I simply answered, chuckling as I noticed Shinobu frown in confusion, "My blood is slightly thicker in consistency than the normal human blood due to — what I assume it to be — presence of higher amount of white blood cells, resulting in my stronger immune system." I explained, "By studying the very short span needed for my blood to clot, I'll also like to assume that I have a higher number of platelets; thus, aiding to my high healing metabolism."
Tanjiro and Zenitsu blinked owlishly while Shinobu looked pretty surprised (but somewhat intrigued) by the time I finished explaining.
"That is very interesting." Shinobu replied, her eyes sparkling with curiosity, "That must mean that you are immune to many of the diseases, aren't you?"
"In a way, yes." I affirmed, "I fall sick way less than average humans, but if I do, it is very severe."
"I understand." She suddenly turned to Tanjiro and Zenitsu, "Are you not going for your morning training, Tanjiro-kun? Zenitsu-kun?"
"Hai, Shinobu-san!" Tanjiro immediately got off the bed, bidding us a hurried farewell before he dragged a whining Zenitsu behind him.
I blinked a few times in surprise and shook my head at their antics as Shinobu started again, "Tanjiro-kun, Zenitsu-kun and Inosuke-kun came to visit you everyday before they went for their morning training." She relayed, her smile turning softer as she noticed my surprised expression, "Inosuke-kun couldn't come to visit today because he went to training early— he was rather determined to finish the recovery training today."
"Recovery training?" I blurted out before immediately realizing what she meant.
"In Butterfly Estate, we organize a functional recovery training for all the injured slayers, so that they could return to the field with their full body movement recovered just as before their injury." Shinobu explained, "I would like you to participate in it as well— though, you should rest a few more days before you do! You did lose a lot of blood almost a week ago."
"Understood." I turned to look back at the window behind my bed post, "Kocho-san, I hope you won't mind if I ask a few things from you?"
"Eh? What things, Miyasha-san?"
"Nothing much, I assure you, just— I... have developed some very peculiar habits, unfortunately. I cannot... sleep unless I am sitting under the presence of warm sunlight. So... if it is not of too much inconvenience for you, can I sleep on the porch of the Estate while I try and fail to meditate?"
Shinobu blinked at my strange request, "Miyasha-san, if you cannot sleep without sunlight... how do you sleep at night?"
"I don't, actually." I answer honestly, "Since my body feels extremely cold at times, I usually can only sleep when I have some warm source near me, thus, the Sunlight. However, due to this habit of mine, I forgone sleeping at night many a times resulting in my... rather nocturnal nature. Now, the only time I can sleep during the night is either when I'm unconscious or when I have passed out due to exhaustion or lack of sleep."
"That is very unhealthy, Miyasha-san." Shinobu frowned, making me give her a sheepish smile.
"Yeah... I know, Kocho-san." I sheepishly said before continuing, "Anyway, the second and last thing I wanted to ask of you was actually a... recipe, if you may call it."
"Recipe?"
"Uh, yeah— actually, since I use my blood in demon slaying and medicines quite often, I need to keep a check on my own blood level. So for that, I often take a... rather unappealing but effective 'medicine' to avoid weakening of my body."
"Oh?"
"Mmhm. An elderly female had once given me this 'recipe' when she noticed my weakened state after using my blood to make a large dose of medicines."
"What are the ingredients of it, Miyasha-san?"
"A... slurry of egg yolk, milk and steamed organ meat like kidney and liver." A shiver went up my spine as I imagined its taste, noticing Shinobu having almost the same reaction as me.
"Miyasha-san, are sure you can...?"
"I know it may seem questionable, but I assure you it is a very effective recipe." I shivered in disgust again, "I have been taking that 'medicine' for over three years now, and at this point, it's more of a necessary evil than anything."
Shinobu nodded, "I understand. Although, I can simply change your diet instead of that recipe, if it helps...?"
"It will, thank you." I smiled at her kindness, "Though, I may still have to take it if I want to replenish my medicinal stock anytime soon now."
"Ah, that reminded me— can you tell me how you actually make your pastes?" Shinobu asked tentatively, "I apologize but I recently used some of your medicines on the recovering demon slayers to see how they react with their injuries."
"Ah, no need to apologize, Kocho-san!" I waved her apology off, "Please do tell how they performed, though."
"Beyond my expectations." She replied, "Their injuries healed up much faster and the smell was rather pleasant as... opposed to what I initial thought it would be like."
I chuckled at her sheepish smile, my heart feeling rather lighter this morning, "Not your fault, I assure you." I nonchalantly replied, "I normally dry out my blood by mixing medicinal herbs with it and adding a bit of either lavender essence or calendula essence as the additional healing agents and for their good smell."
"Ah."
"Though, I still prefer to make consumable medicine more than the applicable ones as they work much faster and are more effective in boosting the healing process." I declared.
"Does the amount of blood you add into your medicines affect the healing process of the patience?"
"Usually no— it all depends on how many times they apply or take the said medicine." I replied, "Although, I do have to set my blood aside for other purposes too, so, I constrict the amount of blood I use in the medicines to the bare minimum."
"Other purposes?"
"Yes, like for demon slaying." I explained, "That activity requires a huge portion of my blood, so, I refrain from using too much of it anywhere else."
"How do you... inject your blood into the demons, Miyasha-san?" Shinobu asked curiously, her eyes boring into mine as she leaned over me slightly.
"I normally drizzle it over my nichirin fans." I confessed, "And even though it may not sound as much of an effective way for the injection, it does its work so I don't complain."
Shinobu nodded before admitting, "I... can't decapitate a demon either." She took a pause, looking at the open window behind me, "My body does not have that much strength. However, I have developed a poison lethal to demons." She turned her attention back to me, her deep violet eyes looking into my bluish-violet ones, "My sword is especially made for the purpose of injecting that poison into the demons— hollow from the inside with small pores at the tips of the sword. Would you like a sword made for your own use with a familiar structure as mine? I can help you with it, if you would like to."
Her sudden proposal left me speechless— she seemed to genuinely want to help me, and I honestly couldn't help but blush slightly at that.
'After all, she was my favourite Hashira in my previous life.'
"Y-You're too kind, Kocho-san." I somehow blurted out, "I... may think about it— but I hope you won't mind if I take some time to think... I'm yet to even decide if I actually want swords as my main weapon or not..."
"I understand." The corner of her eyes wrinkled up as she smiled genuinely, "Take your time, Miyasha-san." She said softly as she slowly got off the side of the bed, "If you need any help or advice, please do not hesitate to ask of me, alright?"
"Thank you so much, Kocho-san..." I genuinely thanked her, my heart skipping a beat as she gave me another sweet smile.
"You're always welcome, Miyasha-san. Unfortunately I have to leave." she was almost at the door as she turned to me, "It was nice meeting you, Miyasha-san."
"I-It was nice meeting y-you too, ma'am!" I stuttered out, blushing as she chuckled.
"Oh! I almost forgot—" she turned towards me again, smiling mischievously, "The three young slayers weren't your only visitors, Miyasha-san."
"Eh?"
"If I'm not wrong," she looked at the window behind me, "They would be here in a few minutes or so." And she left after saying that.
I stared at the now closed door in utter confusion.
'...what?'
(~<>~)
"Arigato, Aoi-chan!" I thanked her, smiling kindly as she a slight blush dusted over her pale cheeks, "I hope you wouldn't mind if I call you by your first name, right?"
Aoi shook her head, blushing brightly as I chuckled and patted on her head.
'She's too cute.' I inwardly gushed, smiling kindly at her as she handed me a glass of milk.
"Here's your milk, Miya—" Suddenly the door to the room slammed open, making me jump and almost spill the milk.
Fortunately, Aoi had caught my hand and immediately stabilized the glass of milk, saving the white liquid from spilling all over me and the bed.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, Aoi." I apologized to her before turning to the new arrivals.
My heart stopped for a moment as I stared at their amused faces before blurting out the first thing that came into my mind—
"What the hell are you two doing here?"
Hitoshi deadpanned at my question; giving me the most flat look he could as he replied, "We are here to see you, dumbass. Why the hell would we be here otherwise?!"
"I..." my lips curved up into a smile as I spread my arms, watching amusingly as the Hitoshi sprinted up into my arms like a little child, "I missed you both so much!"
I chuckled as I heard Aoi squeak behind me, "You can leave now, Aoi. I'll drink the milk in a few minutes, okay?" I turned to her after Hitoshi let me off the hug, smiling as she nodded and instantly left the room.
Hiroshi, instead, took her spot and smacked me upside my head.
"Hey!"
"Hiro! How many times should I tell you not to hit her?!"
"Why the fuck did go to the Natagumo mountain when you knew there was a lower moon there?" Hiroshi glared at me, his bluish-green eyes filled with annoyance and relief, "Are you fucking insane?"
"I just couldn't let them die there!" I whined, rubbing the back of my head as I looked at Hiroshi with an offended look, "And I initially didn't knew if there was a Demon Moon there or—"
"Don't fucking lie..." Hiroshi pulled my right cheek hard, "...to us. We know exactly when you're lying! Don't tell me you couldn't feel that demon's aura from far away!"
"Stahp iwt!" I smacked his hand, rubbing my cheek tenderly as he finally left it, "Why you so mean~!" I whined, giving a dirty look to Hitoshi who was chuckling beside me.
"It was almost not worth meeting you guys." I sulked, making Hitoshi laugh loudly while Hiroshi just shook his head dejectedly.
It had been almost two years since I even saw a glimpse of them— four, since I saw them and properly talked to them.
"You both have grown even taller..." I commented off-handedly, reaching out to Hitoshi's waist-length ponytail, "Finally decided to keep your hair long?"
"Yep!" Hitoshi answered enthusiastically, "It gives me a rather dashing look!" he winked at me, "Not to mention it helps people differentiate between us. It gets a bit annoying after a while when people hand Hiro's things to me."
"It really suits you." I genuinely complimented. Unlike his messy hairstyle a few years back, his hair was now slicked back into a tight ponytail, giving others a rather clear view of his blue-green eyes and sharp cheekbones.
Hiroshi, on the other hand, still had his short messy hairstyle but unlike before, it reached till his shoulder and had a strange flip to it.
"You've grown a lot too." Hiroshi commented, sitting at the foot of the bed as he reached out to ruffle my hair, "You finally look like an adult now."
I stuck my tongue out at his jab, making Hitoshi chuckle again.
"He is right though," Hitoshi agreed, "You look even more like a woman now— and too beautiful for words, little one. Do we need to look for a suitor for you soon, hm?"
"Find one for yourself first, old man." I taunted back, making Hiroshi chuckle at Hitoshi's blush, "You look like you need a little bit of love there, if you know what I mean, senpai."
"Miyasha!"
I grinned cheekily as Hitoshi glared at me, his face completely red by this point.
"Jokes aside," Hiroshi brushed off, "How do you feel? How are your injuries?"
"Much better than before." I answered honestly, "I didn't had any lasting injuries though— just a few hairline fractures here and there, and a bit of a blood loss."
"A few? A bit?" Hitoshi glared at me, "You were unconscious for a week, Miyasha; a week even with your body's high healing power. Who the hell are you fooling here?"
"I'm not fooling—"
"Then start taking your wounds seriously, Miyasha." Hiroshi added, "Since you've finally decided to be a demon slayer, you need to keep these things in consideration or you will die."
"I—" I gulped as I remembered my situation, "—understand. I will, senpai."
I didn't push them about it any further, avoiding to tell them that all this was not new to me— because for all they knew, I've been nothing but a travelling doctor for four years; nothing more, nothing less.
It wasn't like they didn't know about my blood's anomalous properties— at least, not the whole of it. They were familiar with its medicinal properties, however the corrosive nature it attained in the presence of demon flesh was not exactly explained to them.
'Not to mention they'll completely flip off if they hear about it.' I thought, before changing the topic to safer zones, "Anyway, why are you here so suddenly?"
"Why? Can't we visit you anymore?" Hitoshi teased, strangely deflecting my question.
"You can, but how did you know I was here, as in the Butterfly Estate? Also, why were you visiting the Estate in the first place? Are you both injured?"
"No, we were called here." Hiroshi answered before looking at his twin from the corner of his eyes, "We heard you were here when we were talking to Shinobu-san."
'What are they hiding...?' I frowned as I looked at both the males, wondering if I should ask them about it or not, 'Maybe later... I really don't wanna grill them right now.'
"I didn't know you were on first name basis with Kocho-san." I taunted, my suspicion about the whole thing showing through my voice.
"The number of times we visited here sure helped in that." Hiroshi piped up, "Anyway! We brought some gifts for you!"
"Eh?"
"Nothing special, just a haori and a few hair clips." Hitoshi added, "We know your luck with haoris, so we decided to bring you a spare one." He teased, making me puff my cheeks up.
"Not my fault that my haori is torn down first thing in a fight!"
"Yeah, yeah, we know." Hitoshi patted my head, "We'll bring them along with us the next time we visit. Till then," he leaned towards me excitedly, "Let's talk about your breathing style."
"Wait, what?"
"Have you decided which breathing style do you want?" He pressed on further, his bluish-green eyes sparkling as he continued, "Want us to teach you the snow one? I bet you'll catch onto it pretty quickly too since you've seen us perform it so many times—"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" I leaned back, "Hold your horses, senpai! Changing topics so quick ain't good for any conversation! And no, I'm not going to learn the snow breathing technique."
"Aww, why~?"
'Because I don't wanna be like those stupid OCs in those typical Demon Slayer fanfics?'
"Just no." I firmly declined, "That is my decision and please respect that."
"Aww..."
"Breathing technique," Hiroshi started, watching his twin whine beside him with slight annoyance, "Is nothing more than your own fighting style with the application of full concentrated breath." He turned to me, "If you already have a particular fighting style, you can develop your own breathing technique. However, every breathing technique has a particular theme to it; such as the water breathing is very flexible while the snow one is more rigid and faster in its forms."
"I... didn't know that."
"Of course. That is why every breath style is unique and differentiated while still being branched off from the same source." Hiroshi continued, "If you want to, then you can join us while we practice— even if you don't learn the snow breathing, you can still practice with us and brush up on the basic stances."
"Yep! We can also show you the new forms we made and practiced!" Hitoshi piped up again, making me blink in surprise.
"Wait, you made some new forms?!"
"Yes! And you'll love them!" He grinned proudly, "So, please don't hesitate to join us while we practice!"
"Why not." I agreed enthusiastically, holding off from saying anything else.
If I had my way, I wouldn't have to learn a breathing technique; I could just rely the utility of my blood and that would be it.
"So, now tell me... what have you two being up to for the past few years? Any girls I should be worried about~?" I changed the topic, watching amusingly as Hitoshi's face turned red again.
"Mi-Miyasha!"
(~<>~)
'It was such a wonderful day today...' And honestly it was— I didn't die, Tanjiro and Zenitsu started calling me Aneki, Shinobu and I had quite a decent chat, I met the twins after a long time and finally now, I was feeling way better than I ever did. Yes, there was still quite a bit of pain here and there but my mind felt much lighter and calmer than it had felt in years.
'Is it because I'm completing my so-called destiny?' I wondered, staring at the starry sky as I sat on the edge of the porch of the Butterfly Estate, 'Should I really continue this though?'
I sighed heavily, closing my eyes as I felt the warm wind brush past me.
For years I've tried to avoid the plot, and somehow I still ended up in the exact middle of it— yet, I felt really... happy, satisfied, as if I belonged here.
'Or as much as a fanfic character does, heh.' I shook my head, 'It doesn't matter now anyway— I'm already here, and I'm already gonna make an unwanted impact on the plot.'
All I could do now was to try and keep the plot in line as much as possible, right?
'Many people will die if I do so...'
But won't they die anyway? Who am I to play the God in a world that isn't even my own, anyway?
And me disrupting the plot could cause in even more casualties...
Right?
'What if... that wasn't the case?' My heart whispered as I finally opened my eyes. The night sky was filled with thousands and thousands of stars— it was not a new sight to me and yet...
'...I never took a break to enjoy them.'
"Aneki?" Tanjiro suddenly called, making my attention snap back to the present, "The dinner is ready!"
"Mmhm, give me a few minutes." I answered back, slowly getting up from the porch as another wave of warm wind blew by.
'I'll cross the bridge when I'm there.' I finally decided, heading inside as I mused, 'I've been going at this for too long. Just for once... I want to take a break and just... enjoy the present.'
"Aneki!"
"I'm here, I'm here, I'm here! Hold your horses, you stooges!"
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A bit of a break for the characters, eh?
I know this looks quite like a filler chapter— in fact, you can even say it is one, but our dearest characters honestly needed a break; especially Miyasha.
Anyway, I'm sorry for the late update! I had unfortunately sprained my right hand quite severely three days back and that hindered me for doing almost any work, let alone typing xD
However, I'm feeling quite alright now; so here's the chappie! Hope ya all like this and if you do, don't hesitate to comment here 👀
》Taishou Secret!《
(Yes, I'm now starting this shit—)
Hitoshi is the older one out of the Kinomiya twins! He is about ten minutes older than Hiroshi— however he never behaves or conveys it in any way because he doesn't cares enough for that!
Please leave a vote and comment if you did or even if you didn't— I'll love to hear your opinion on it!
Stay safe and stay healthy!